He leapt out of bed, wearing only a pair of tight black trousers, and stood at the defensive. He wouldn't cry out, it wasn't a manly thing to do, but he also wouldn't come without putting up a fight. Doubar chased him around the room but found his younger brother just had a lot more energy than he did. Rongar sprang over the bed and tried to tackle the Captain, but he squirmed away from him as well. Firouz and Maeve tried to surround him. He let a punch fly at Firouz and ducked away from Maeve's reach. The crew had planned for a struggle but not for Sinbad's next maneuver.
He ran straight for the balcony... and jumped. It would have been a brilliant plan of action, if his foot hadn't caught in the railing, flipping him. In a graceless move, Sinbad's head struck the edge of the balcony and he landed in a motionless heap on the lawn below. The crew ran to the balcony and looked down. They caught their mutual breath as the severity of what had just happened sunk slowly in.
The palace sprang to life after the noise of the struggle and the dull thud that had silenced it. The crew saw Lady Valeska, accompanied by a handsome young gigolo. She knelt beside the still form of her beloved Azir and then... looked up. When she saw the four figures silhouetted against the white of the palace wall behind them, she called out, "Guards! Seize them! They broke into the palace and tried to kill my sweet Azir."
Startled looks overcame their faces and shock set in even deeper. One word went straight from Valeska's mouth to the core of each of their hearts... Azir? The horror of what they had witnessed coupled with the realization that no one here even knew that the legendary Sinbad had just flown from that balcony held them in their places. The crew stood stock-still while Valeska's guards rushed upon them and bound their hands behind their backs. They walked open-mouthed to the dungeons and made no effort to stop the door from slamming shut behind them. One thought circled their collective minds. 'What have we done?'
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Maeve sat in silent misery, her back against the cold stone wall of their cell. Doubar stood at the cell door, his arms entwined with the bars, his eyes staring sightless at a pale gray rock outside the cell. Firouz replayed the scene in his mind, trying to calculate the angle and force at which Sinbad's head had struck the balcony, trying to determine if his friend could survive the blow, let alone recall his memory. Rongar's head rested in his arms as he sat in twisted heap in the corner of the cell. The scene came unbidden into his mind, and he tried to forget but could not. Not one of them had moved since the door had shut hours ago. The slam of the stone and steel reverberated and finally faded but not the anguish, not the guilt, not the despair.
Maeve finally broke the silence. "If he were here, he'd know what to do," she whispered, "how to escape. How to get us all safely back to the Nomad and away from here." Firouz moved to sit beside her. Doubar only offered her a glare before turning his back to the gray rock.
"Maeve, we'll find a way out of here," Firouz said. "We just have to think like Sinbad would. All is NOT lost. We have to keep saying that."
"You're right," Maeve said, the hollow tone in her voice causing Firouz to cringe inwardly. "All is not lost... only Sinbad is lost. The fire in his eyes has gone out. Whoever we confronted in that room was not Sinbad. It was the vessel that used to house him." Tears sprang to her eyes as she recalled the way he looked at her when she tried to block his way. "The light in that body left with Sinbad... and I don't know how to find him."
The tears broke free and rolled down her cheeks. Firouz knew of no way to comfort her. He had noticed it as well. The man in that room had not acted like Sinbad but like a caged animal, resigned to the fact that he will never have freedom. Sinbad's body and soul had been enslaved and Firouz only hoped that a good bump on the head would free his soul and make it easier to free the rest of him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The room looked the same as before. The same man in the same black trousers laid on the same bed, only now a bandage circled his head and two women lit white candles around him.
"Valeska, this is about more than just protecting your 'investment', isn't it?" Eury asked.
"Oh, yes," Valeska replied. "You should know. You gazed into his eyes and drowned in them the same as me. You laid at his side and watched him sleeping like a child the same as me. I have dozens of men who do anything I ask. I have plenty of 'investments' but only one beloved. I could have rented him out by the hour and made myself a second fortune, but you and I are the only ones who know the taste of his mouth, the cool softness of his hair..."
"You can't be in love with him," Eury argued. "He is your pet, your slave. You own him, you can't love him."
"Maybe, maybe not. But something about him is different from any man I have ever know."
The two women stopped to watch the candlelight caress his angelic face. The peaceful look on his face masked the turmoil inside. A pleasant exterior covered the raging battle within. Dreams again made his sleep restless.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The man, the strangers from his last dream, and a dozen others stood in a shallow valley, surrounded by undead warriors and harpies. When they saw the line the demons had formed, they moved to retreat. Heavy footfalls turned all heads. They all spun to face two giant rock beings. While courage faltered and fear washed over them, they turned to the man for leadership. "Say something," the fiery sorceress pleaded, "say anything."
"Well, it isn't going to be a walk in the countryside," he admitted. "If Rumina wants a fight, let's give her one." Four of the others left to place the gemstone in position to be launched at Rumina's makeshift fortress in Skull Rock. The beautiful sorceress went with them. A kiss seemed imminent but was delayed by the immediacy of their situation. Then, the man led the attack, charging the demons with sword drawn. Flashes of steel and well-placed kicks held the warriors and the harpies at bay for a time, but it soon became obvious that they were terribly outnumbered.
They followed the path of those who had left with the gemstone and soon rejoined them... bringing the demons with them. The sorceress threw a massive fireball to divert the skeleton warriors and the harpies. The rock giants continued to approach unscathed. The sorceress tried to muster one more fireball but collapsed against the man. He ordered another of the men to prepare to fire a miniature cannon at the giants. This met with resistance but once the orders had been carried out, both giants were motionless mountains.
The skeleton warriors moved in again and while the group kept them at a distance, a hawk took the gemstone and dropped it down on the evil that inhabited Skull Rock. An explosion shook the earth, and then the warriors fell and were dead again. Cries of victory echoed across the island. The man had led them to overthrow the evil.
In a flash, the scene vanished. The man felt the sting of the whip against his back. Enslaved again, he moved to lift another rock to the cart. The only similarity between the two men seemed to be their golden-brown hair and their bronzed skin. They both could have been very handsome except that the slave had lost his courage. Without it, his face hung nearly emotionless, his eyes were devoid of even a spark of life. Confused, the man looked around him. He was suddenly alone. He stood on a beach and the sea stretched out before him.
Out at sea, he could see a ship. He imagined he could see the crew on deck. He imagined they looked like the foursome who had come into his bedchambers... the ones from his dream. They laughed and didn't seem to mind that they bumped into one another as they shook with laughter. The man wished he could know what they laughed about. He turned his gaze and saw a body on the beach. He ran to the body and saw it was a man. He stopped a distance from the man, but even from that distance he could tell the man was dead. A wind picked up and chilled the man, but he listened as it whistled by. It called out a name over and over, as someone who searches for a lost friend. The wind called out, "Sinbad... Sinbad."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A moan slipped through his lips as he stirred. Eury and Valeska perched on the edge of the bed before his eyes even opened. He focused on the two women gazing down at him. He didn't recognize either of them. "Oh..." the dark-haired one sighed. She reached out hand to stroke his cheek. "How do you feel?"
"Where am I?" he asked with a vague sensation of déjà vu.
"Why, in your bed in my palace," the blonde answered as though answering a foolish child's question. "Don't you remember? The Master brought you to me."
"Of course, I remember," he lied, feeling uncomfortable by the way the two women's eyes roamed over him. "I just..."
"That's such a relief, Azir," the blonde cut in. "When you fell from the balcony, we were afraid you might be... let's not dwell on that. Are you hungry?" The blonde woman took a bowl of strawberries from the bedside table and nudged the other woman to her feet.
"Valeska..." she protested. The man repeated the name under his breath.
"Eury, why don't you go get some wine for Azir?" Valeska said. "You are thirsty, aren't you, dear?" The man bobbed his head. He wasn't quite sure if he was either hungry or thirsty but the woman looked like someone who wanted an answer.
While the women fought over who would feed him each strawberry, the man struggled to recall the events that had led to his current state. He began to remember four people entering his bedchambers and trying to carry him away. He remembered running to the balcony. He remembered trying to jump. He remembered his foot catching. He remembered falling. He remembered a familiar feeling when the four people had approached him. A question formed in his head.
"Excuse me..." he broke in, while the two women fought over the last strawberry. They both turned to expectantly though when he spoke. "Where are the... the people who..."
He didn't need to finish that thought. "Locked away," Valeska reported, seemingly pleased with herself for apprehending them. When the man looked confused, she elaborated. "In the dungeon... We can chain them up if you like," she offered.
"No... that's not necessary," he said. "I'm actually kinda tired. If you two could just..."
"Oh, of course," Eury interrupted. "You need to rest. We'll come back later." She smiled sweetly and brushed a kiss against his cheek. Valeska glared at her and left in a huff.
Once they left, the man rose slowly, testing his weight on his legs before shoving off from the bed and standing. His legs trembled under him, but he forced them to carry him forward. He went to the closet and took the most demure looking shirt he could find. A white linen with gold trim. It wasn't as nice as the others but he decided it would suit him best.
He crept stealthily down the corridor and to a spiral staircase. He descended the stairs and found the dungeon easily. He saw the cell where the four friends had been 'locked away'. He didn't know why he needed to help them escape but it seemed to be his single driving force at that moment.
Doubar saw him first and called out. "Sinbad!"
"No," the man said hesitantly. The name seemed to feel right but he wasn't ready to own it. "My name is Azir. I don't completely remember what happened but I don't think you should all be locked up here. It isn't right."
"How do you know if you don't know us?" Maeve taunted. "Maybe we deserve it." The man looked like a lost child. Maeve's taunting had obviously hit a nerve. The man looked each of them straight in the eye and decided they looked like honest people. He decided to trust them.
"Should I know you?" The question drove into Doubar's heart as Sinbad had looked right at him when he said it.
"Sinbad, you're our Captain and our friend," Firouz said, stepping forward. "But it may take time to remember tha." When he saw the apprehension in Sinbad's eyes, he decided to just save his scientific explanations for later. "Will you let us out of here?"
Sinbad nodded and knelt at the lock. He worked for a few moments before the door squealed open. Maeve and Rongar rose from the floor and they all walked out single file. Sinbad and Maeve's eyes locked for a moment. A spilt second but she saw Sinbad there. Maybe not as quick-witted or courageous as usual, but she saw a spark of fire behind his eyes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sinbad led them back up the spiral staircase and through twisting corridors. Down one such corridor, Sinbad saw Eury. "Hide here," he said, shoving all four of them behind a large stone pedestal topped with a statue of Lady Valeska.
"Ooh, Azir," Eury cooed. "Just the man I was looking for."
"Yep, that's me," Sinbad said. "Now that you found me, I guess you can go find something else to do." He smiled and gestured to try to shoo her away. This only turned her on more.
"Ooh, playing hard to get," she said, breathlessly, "I love that." She pulled him to her, pressing her mouth over his. He turned to beckon the others. They stood in shock behind the pedestal. When she slid her hands under his shirt and his gestures became more desperate, they emerged and crept past the couple making out in the corridor. They stopped and turned however when they noticed Sinbad hadn't pulled back from the Sultana yet. He didn't even pull away when she untucked his shirt from his pants and circled his waist with her hands. He just glanced over her shoulder at the four pairs of wide stunned eyes. His own eyes pleaded with them to keep moving and duck into a corner so he could end the charade. The foursome finally complied when Eury's hands began to explore even more of his anatomy.
"Not here," he finally said.
"Why not?" Eury queried. "The others do it." He took her hands in his, more to keep them from roaming over his body than as a romantic gesture. She nuzzled close against his neck.
"What if someone comes," he implored, "they'll see us." Her kisses on his throat had become distracting. He was tempted to forget about helping the prisoners escape and lead her to a room.
"Since when are you shy," she taunted, opening his shirt and stroking his chest.
"Uh, why don't you go your chambers and I'll meet you there in a moment," he prompted.
"Why don't you just come with me NOW," she beseeched. He grabbed her hands again.
"Well... I just want to give you time to..." He lost his train of thought when one of her hands slipped out of his and down into his pants. "To give you time," he said quickly, pushing her to arm's length to avoid her wandering hands.
"OK," she finally complied. "But not to long..." He smiled and nodded, breathing a sigh of relief when she turned to walk away. He walked to where the others had crouched behind a tapestry. They stood and looked at him, uncertain who HE was. Sinbad had never acted 'like that' before.
"Well done," Maeve ultimately said. She smiled when a blush spread across his cheeks.
"Let's go," he decreed.
They didn't get far before eight of Valeska's guards rounded the corner. They took one look at the group before them - the crew didn't exactly fit in since they dressed like peasants - and drew their swords. Doubar, Maeve, Rongar, and Firouz exchanged worried glances... then they all looked at Sinbad.
"Don't look at me," he quipped. "I don't even have a sword, nor would I know how to use one anyway. You guys are on your own." Neither the guards nor the crew were about to let him off that easy. The guards charged. One lunged at Sinbad. He sidestepped and dealt the guard a fierce kick.
The crew drew their swords while throwing Sinbad I-told-you-so glances. Maeve spotted a sabre displayed on the wall. She drove a fist into the guard's face and ran for the sabre. She lifted it from the wall, yelled, "Sinbad, heads up!" and tossed it to her Captain.
He caught it but looked at it questioningly for a moment. He tried to remember if he had ever learned how to even hold it properly but as a guard rushed towards him with sword raised, he blocked the stroke expertly. He maneuvered the sword so well that he stunned himself when he disarmed the guard.
The guards eventually admitted defeat and those left standing ran like scared rabbits. Sinbad stared down at the sabre in his hand and watched the light glint off it. It felt good in his hands, but he couldn't remember why. The others watched him for a moment, reading his thoughts. They knew it would come back to him quicker than he realized.
"Come on," said Firouz. "We've gotta go before they come back with friends." Sinbad snapped back to the real world.
"Oh, yeah," he mumbled. "We better go." With that, he walked back into the twisting corridors, followed by four still slightly concerned companions.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They crept out of the palace and then made a dash for the surrounding woods. They didn't have to go far before they saw a fire that had long ago burned itself out. Kyla had left while they were caged in the palace. After her earlier outburst though, no one was too disappointed.
They collected berries and fruit from the nearby trees and bushes. After having eaten, they decided to move on. Firouz's brilliant scientific mind had memorized landmarks while they had traveled to the palace so it was just a matter of finding the same landmarks to guide them back. When night fell, they started a fire and gathered more fruit. Then, Firouz encouraged everyone to tell about past adventures. It was a shrouded attempt to help Sinbad remember them and their adventures together, but after only a few tales, he rose and left the firelight behind.
Maeve followed him. She found him perched on a rock, a pensive look marring his face. She purposely made a bit of noise to announce her presence. Sinbad ignored her right up until she sat beside him. He felt a chill go up his spine at how close she sat. Her arm brushed against his and his breath caught in his chest. He didn't remember what type of relationship he had with the beautiful woman, but he hoped they were close... very close.
"Sinbad, you've been real quiet all day," she observed aloud. "What's on your mind?"
"Nothing," he replied, sadly, "and that's just the problem." He became aware of how close she was again when the wind swept up and her hair brushed against his cheek. "I feel like all of you know me better than I know me." Maeve almost laughed at this. She knew hardly a thing about her elusive Captain. He had more secrets surrounding him than a buried treasure. But she offered to answer any questions he had. She hoped he would be more at ease in smaller company.
"Back in the palace, when you tossed me that sword," he began. "I had no idea what I was doing. Then, something happened and I just started fighting. Is that what we do? How did I know what to do when I couldn't even remember picking up a sword before?"
"That's what we do," Maeve said with a smile. "You're good, that's how you knew what to do. I guess Firouz wanted us to tell you some stories and jog your memory or something, but essentially, that's just what we do. You have this tendency to find trouble wherever you go so we all can pretty much hold our own in a fight." Sinbad thought about that for a moment.
"Trouble seems to find me," he repeated. "I think I already noticed that. I had a dream where I was with you and the others and we were fighting. There were these skeletons that were alive and they attacked us. We fought off all these monsters and things..."
"Let me guess," Maeve broke in, "you saved the day."
"Yeah, dumb dream, I guess," he conceded.
"No," she laughed, "you do that too." She laughed even harder when she saw the incredulous expression on his face. "It's true. You get us into all this trouble, but you always know how to get us out. I think it's a gift." She brushed up against him and laughed at that. The sound of her laughter sounded familiar to Sinbad and he worked up the guts to ask what he had wanted to from the start.
"What are we to each other?" he inquired. "What kind of relationship do we have?"
Maeve had to think about that. How could she try to explain what she didn't understand herself? An idea formed and taunted her. She could tell him they were lovers. In her dreams, it was true. It so nearly had come true, on more than one occasion. She looked into his eyes and knew she couldn't stretch the truth, even a little. He was depending on her.
"We're crewmates... and friends... best friends," she said.
"Just 'best friends'. Nothing more," Sinbad asked. He had just baited her without even knowing it. One more tiny shove and she would have them married. She controlled herself.
"Best friends is no little thing," Maeve began. "Best friends means someone to count on when you think you're all alone. It means doing anything to protect someone, to ensure their happiness. It means you sacrifice a little of yourself just to see them smile. There is nothing more than best friends."
"Oh" was all Sinbad could muster.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Gone?" Valeska exclaimed. "How could you let him leave with those... beasts? They're dangerous, they're cruel and uncaring... they're filthy peasants." The guards fairly cowered before her. Her anger had a bad reputation for getting people thrown in the dungeon. Valeska breathed deeply to calm herself. A wicked smile crossed her face.
"No matter," she said. "I'll just have to send a few of your friends along with you," she told the guards. "We'll outnumber them, kill the fugitives, and drag Azir back here where he belongs. Then, I'll teach him to defy Lady Valeska." The spark in her eye enhanced the cruelty of her words.
"How many should I send?" she thought aloud. "Twenty, a small army. There's only five of them, twenty should do." Then she turned her attention back to the guards. "What are you waiting for?!? Get out there and find them!" she screamed. The guards scrambled for the door, anxious to escape her wrath. Her sweet appearance made her seem only more insane with anger.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
That night, Doubar sat, keeping watch, but his eyes kept falling on the tossing and turning figure of his brother. Sinbad seemed unable to sleep. Doubar stood and walked to where Sinbad lay. "Littl..." Doubar caught himself, stopped himself. He never thought he could be so nervous to speak to his younger brother, but as he stood over the restless young man, he was suddenly uncertain who he saw before him. "Sinbad," he said, hiding a smile when the head turned at that name and he met his brother's blue gaze. "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
"Haven't tried," Sinbad said, pushing himself to a sitting position. He pulled his legs up to his chest and crossed his arms over his knees. "I can't close my eyes," he continued, haltingly. "Every time I do it's the same dream. I'm someone I don't remember being doing something I don't remember doing."
"Don't focus on what you don't remember," Doubar advised. "What do you remember?"
Sinbad's eyes turned away from Doubar's. Some things can only be said while staring sightlessly at nothing. "Pieces here and there, but mostly... friends... and not being alone. Everything that I remember really clearly, the last couple days, I'm alone, but I know it wasn't always so." His hands moved to his head, grasping handfuls of his thick hair in frustration, as though he meant to rip the memories from their hiding places in his mind and bring them into the world. "It's so close. I know there's one thing and if I can find it, everything else will come back. I just can't find it."
Doubar saw the frustration glint in Sinbad's eyes. He knew how close it was. Whatever it was, it gleamed in his brother's eyes. It hid right behind them. Doubar could see it, but knew it rested where Sinbad couldn't quite find it. But he would, Doubar knew his brother's ceaseless determination and knew that Sinbad would find it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The brothers stayed up the whole night. Sometimes talking but mostly just thinking and biding time until morning. When the group set off only precious moments after sunrise, they didn't know who followed just a few miles behind. Valeska's guards had found the remnants of a fire and had journeyed from the palace in that direction. Fortunately, the guards also had no idea how close they were.
The margin between the groups shortened by a tiny bit each day of the four-day journey back to the town that the crew would pass through to return to the Nomad. On that fourth day, as the crew entered the tavern where they had met Kyla and where they hoped she would be now, the guards stepped out of the woods. Fortunately... and unfortunately, Kyla was there.
"So, you found him," she said in mock detachment.
"Aye, but when we returned, you had left," Doubar accused. "Why did you leave? I thought we were friends."
"You're friends all right," Kyla said sadly, "just not mine."
"That isn't true," Maeve interjected.
"But it is. I didn't want to be around to see your little clique reunited," Kyla explained. "You hold all your strongest emotions for each other. No one else stands half a chance of befriending any of you because there simply isn't enough love to go around." The crew exchanged glances that were both happy and sad for they knew she spoke the truth. They were all best friends.
Kyla touched Doubar's cheek in a gesture of farewell and whispered, "You were my first friend. It's just too bad you're already taken." Doubar nodded sorrowfully. The crew knew no more farewells were needed so they turned and walked out, leaving Kyla to her next 'friend'.
They had barely taken two steps when they saw Valeska's guards striding towards them. They slipped around the corner and ran in the direction of the beach where they had pulled in the longboat. But the guards had already seen them.
When they reached the beach, Doubar, Rongar, Firouz, and Maeve all dove at the vessel and shoved it towards the water. Sinbad stared at the gaping sea before him and drew in a ragged breath. A single memory returned. Waves crashed over him. His lungs burned in his chest. The water washed a black veil over him. He remembered the blindingly dark night and the storm that began the nightmare. He took a step back, shaking his head.
Doubar and Rongar had already grabbed the oars and were ready to row back to the Nomad and away from the twenty guards Valeska had sent. Doubar dropped the oar and stomped angrily to where his brother stood. His anger melted though when he looked into fearful sea-blue eyes.
"I can't go out there," Sinbad pleaded. "It's dangerous." Doubar caught sight of the guards emerging from the surrounding woods and grabbed Sinbad roughly by the arm.
"So is standing here," he argued. Sinbad tried to pull away but Doubar lifted him nearly off his feet and hauled him to the boat. Doubar dropped him in, grabbed the oar and started rowing. The guards stared after them, throwing seashells and pieces of driftwood. Sinbad sat in the midst of the chaos, trembling. Then, as he gazed at the crystal blue water around him, he saw a vision.
A thousand adventures churned around him. Waves of magic washed over him. Monsters and sorcerers, demons and thieves threatened to drown him in their evil. Only he refused to go under, refused to let them drown him. He hovered neck-deep in hellfire and managed to keep his head held up high enough to survive. The tremors ceased and a stunned smile exposed Sinbad's boyish dimples. Shocked, he said, "I AM Sinbad." He said it in a voice just over a whisper, but his friends heard it and breathed easier.
THE END